This is a sad, but true story, and I hate to even talk about it, but I do care about the well being and safety of every child. Here is a fact according the the Home Safety Council.
Fact:
Over 2,000 children die every year as a result of intentional home injury, and the highest rates come from babies under a year.
There are four leading causes of infant deaths. I have taken the time not only to give you the causes, but ways to prevent anything like this from ever happening to you or your child.
Cause #1 (Drowning)
More than half of infant drownings occur in bathtubs. The story I told you about the woman is a natural, but sad occurrence. Baby seats should be avoided if you are not going to be there with your child at all times. The suction cups beneath the seat usually come loose, and can cause the seat to turn over. The best solution is to watch your child at all times while bathing, and have all supplies within arms reach.
Children's (kiddie) pools are another thing that you should be cautious of. It's been estimated that about 300 children drown each year in swimming pools under the age of 4. If you are going to let your child swim, you should always do your own safety checks to ensure the safety of your child. Always stay within arms length of your baby.
Another cause of drowning is water in cleaning buckets. Children - mostly infants - drown every year from falling headfirst into buckets (including toilets). The best prevention for this is to ensure that all toilets are closed in the house. Even if you are at a guests house, this is something you should consider doing. When cleaning, make sure your baby is secure in their playpen or crib.
Cause #2 (Suffocating)
The leading cause of infant death is suffocation or unintentional choking caused by sleeping with your baby. The number of deaths caused this way have been increasing. You should always put your in a crib. If you want your baby close to you while you sleep, the best solution to this is getting a crib that attaches to the side of your bed. Now, speaking of cribs, it's important to make sure that that you keep the crib clutter free. What I mean by this is the use of pillows and blankets (and teddy bears, etc). Objects that have the potential of falling on your baby, or you baby can roll on top of, can be life threatening. Babies normally don't have the strength to push off or roll off an object that's suffocating them. Instead of a blanket, use an infant sleep sack. It has the same affect as swaddling a baby in a blanket. It keeps them warm and secure, and most important, safe.
Coin sized foods are dangerous to a newborn. You should never feed your baby popcorn, nuts, grapes, piece of meat such a hot dog, chicken, etc. Your baby's windpipes are not developed to the stage of swallowing these types of items. Anything between the size of a dime and quarter should be avoided. If you do decide to feed them some items such as these, I recommend cutting them up into smaller pieces. I do not recommend feeding them any type of candy or nuts.
Cause #3 (Burns and Fires)
This is a common area because a lot of parents haven't researched enough on the proper temperatures for infants. It's a fact that if a child is exposed to 140 degree water for three seconds or more will sustain a third degree burn, so knowing water temperature is extremely vital. When giving your baby a bath, the temperature of the water should never exceed 100 Fahrenheit. It should feel warm, not hot to you.
Spilled coffee is another common area of unintentional child burns. This can happen from parents juggling infants in one hand, and coffee in another. This is a ''No, No''. If you are going to drink coffee while holding your baby, you should use a travel mug instead. Also, never leave coffee on the kitchen table with your infant around. The have a tendency to pull on the tablecloth, which just so happens to have your coffee mug on it. I don't need to tell you what can happen.
Cause #4 (Falls)
Babies love to climb, both up and down. This is OK, as song as you're keeping a watchful eye on them. What happens when you're not watching can be a catastrophe, or even fatal. Having baby gates will prevent stair accidents. I have to mention that there are different types of baby gates that you can use, and I only recommend one for long term use. There is ''the pressure baby gate'' and ''the installed baby gate''. A pressure gate (to me) is only good for short term use. The reason I say this is because a baby can push hard enough to force the gate to move. I would only use this at a friend's or family's house where you're there for the day. In your own home, it's better to use an installed gate. This is a gate that is mounted to the wall. You should use one for the top of the stairs AND the bottom. Remember, most babies like to crawl UP the stairs. A lot of parents forget this fact, and only worry about their infant falling DOWN the stairs.
Fact:
More than 3900 children under the age of 4 were treated for baby-walker related injuries in 2004. A more alarming fact is 80 percent of these injuries to infants were being supervised by the parent or guardian. I have written a previous article about this subject. Please read for more information.
Please always remember that your baby's safety is the most important thing. I recommend that you take CPR classes (free) at the American Red Cross. This will be useful if you're ever in a situation where you have to administer life - saving techniques to your baby, or another's. I hope you have found this information useful. If you do have a caregiver, you should pass this on to them.
Sincerely,
The Caring Mom
